


Missing Home

by mac_andcheeses



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, jolex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27789301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mac_andcheeses/pseuds/mac_andcheeses
Summary: Alex Karev is missing home...What will he discover when he goes back to Seattle fifteen years after he left for Kansas?
Relationships: Alex Karev & Jo Wilson Karev, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson Karev
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	1. The Last Wedding: Part One

**Author's Note:**

> This goes out to the anon on my tumblr who requested an almost identical fic to this one I had in my drafts. I hope you like it! 
> 
> I would say this is more of a miniseries because each chapter tends to be on the shorter side but I've posted the first three parts together to hopefully makeup for that!

**Set in 2040**

* * *

_Alex was the happiest he’d ever been in his entire life and the grin spread across his face screamed it from the rooftops. He and Jo were no stranger to weddings, hell they’d had two when they were first together over two decades ago, but the happiness he’d felt then and the happiness he was feeling now were very different. This was it, the final ‘I do’ of both of their lives. They had officially made it. Today, Alex Karev was going to marry the woman he will get to grow old with. Well, grow older with. I mean…he wasn’t exactly an old man yet – his looks had held up great – but Alex was kidding himself if he thought the pounding headache he woke up with in the morning didn’t have everything to do with the ‘bachelor night’ drinks Eli and Miles had dragged him along to the night before. He definitely couldn’t hold his drinks like he used to._

  
  


_Right on cue, both boys entered the room, Meredith trailing closely behind them. “I couldn’t find the matching tie for Miles to wear, so we’ve gone with the blue instead for both of them,” she gestured towards the pair._

  
  


_“Did you tell Jo I lost it?” Alex questioned nervously, desperately hoping the answer was no. His wife-to-be had taken care of almost everything herself, including the outfits for their five very opinionated daughters. Alex’s only job had been to make sure Eli and Miles had outfits for the ceremony, and yet he’d managed to mess that up._

  
  


_“Are you kidding me? Of course I did. Where do you think I got the blue back up ties from? She brought them with her just in case,” Meredith smirked. “She found it hilarious by the way.”_

  
  


_“How is this my fault? Those two idiots are old enough to dress themselves,” Alex struggled frustratedly with his own tie. He truly thought Jo had only assigned him the task of the boy’s outfits, so he’d feel included. At the end of the day, they were twenty-five and twenty-three years old and more than capable of remembering a tie on their own._

  
  


_“Well you’re not wrong there,” Meredith moved to help him with the knot. “But I think we’ve learnt from past experiences not to put too much faith in either of them. You, on the other hand, I had many higher expectations for.”_

  
  


_Alex was on the brink of arguing back when he heard a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts. “Can one of you please make yourself useful and get that,” he ordered Eli and Miles._

  
  


_“We’re eating,” they said in unison, both showing zero intentions of moving. “Can’t you do it?” Eli added._

  
  


_“Seriously!” Alex yelled back, the anger in his voice less than subtle._

  
  


_“Oh calm down Alex,” Meredith rolled her eyes at her friend's dramatics. “I’ll get the door,” she added, walking over to greet whoever was at the other side and inviting them in._

  
  


_Alex crooked his neck to the side to try to see the visitor better, immediately smiling as he caught sight of the chestnut brown locks he knew so well. Her hair was hanging in perfect curls, two gold flowers clipped to the side. “Wow...Harley...oh darling you look absolutely gorgeous,” he continued to stare in awe._

  
  


_“Thanks dad,” the young girl smiled back, twirling to show off the dress she was wearing. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”_

  
  


_“How is your mom doing?”_

  
  


_“Well she’s cried three times already, which annoyed Lex because she needed to reapply her makeup. Next she got stressed and yelled at Flora for giving her attitude. Then as soon as Auntie Mer came in with the tie situation she cheered right up and went into full hysterical laughing mode…” Harley looked around at the boys busy scoffing their faces with food. “She’s good right now, a bit anxious but good. They’re just wrapping up last minute photos and then I think we’re almost ready for Eli and Miles to come through.”_

  
  


_“It’s time...she’s ready,” Alex confirmed excitedly._

  
  


_Harley nodded, grinning back in shared excitement. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!”_

  
  


_Noticing her eyes starting to water slightly, Alex quickly pulled his daughter into a hug. “Oh Harles, I love you so much sweet girl. Let’s not start with the waterworks, though, because I really want to get married soon and we both know Lex will want to fix your makeup if you smudge it.”_

  
  


_Harley laughed, wiping away her tears. “I love you too dad...I hope you know that. I’ve said a lot of mean things to you over the years but I never meant any of it. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I just wish it could have been sooner.”_

  
  


_“Jesus, what in the emotional rollercoaster?!” Miles poked fun at Alex and Harley who stood hugged together in silence._

  
  


_“Miles!” Meredith warned sternly._

  
  


_“What? I thought this was a happy day, but big and little Karev here are having a mushy moment.”_

  
  


_“Yeah, what’s all this about dad?” Eli added mockingly._

  
  


_“Oh shut up…” Harley whined and poked her tongue out her brothers. “Are you both ready, or what?”_

  
  


_Alex watched on as the siblings exited the room together, one leading in front of the other, and it suddenly, everything felt a thousand times more real than before._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading ♡♡
> 
> You can check out my other fics on here or over on my tumblr: @mac-andcheeses


	2. Missing Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter is set five years before the last. The series will then follow on in chronological order until it catches up to the wedding in the prologue :))) Hope that makes sense!

**Five years earlier...**

* * *

He hated that he now felt like a stranger in the one place that he’d once considered home. Today, instead of parking in the staff area as he had for years, Alex Karev left his car in the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital visitors area. That’s all he was now...just a visitor. Passing through for a couple of days on his way to somewhere new. So much had changed since he’d last been back fifteen years previously. It was almost overwhelming – all the unknowns, the unfamiliarities. Alex didn’t recognise a single member of staff who’d walked past him. From the man running the coffee cart outside, to the nurses occupying the front station, everything was different. 

  
  


Alex has never – not for a single second – regretted his decision to be a dad to Eli and Lex. Being a father was, hands down, the best thing that had ever happened to him, besides Jo of course. It just came to him so naturally, as if he had been doing it his whole life. Each laugh, each mischievous giggle, each squeal of excitement, all made him feel like the luckiest person on the planet. Not now, not after having met them, known them, and loved them, would Alex ever regret the life he had with his children. The only thing he did regret was his decision to know them away from Seattle, and in Kansas of all places. 

  
  


He really did think he was doing the right thing, the fairest option for everyone involved. He knows he did a shit thing – a really really shit thing at that – he left his wife, but he didn’t do it because he wanted to hurt her. All he wanted was for Jo to be the happiest she could possibly be in her life and for her to never feel as if she was second best to anyone. So Alex left…he went to Kansas alone and sent Jo one final letter goodbye. It was a rash decision, driven by confused emotions and guilt, and it didn’t give nearly enough consideration to what it was he was actually losing out on by sending those letters. But there was also no going back. 

  
  


For fifteen long years now, as Alex raised his two children in the middle of nowhere Kansas, he would tell himself day by day that Seattle was just a place of the past. That his life with Jo was something to be grateful for and to remember with happiness, not something to miss – not when a life with Jo would mean a life without his children. That’s what he told himself anyway. It’s what he had told everyone who’d asked him. Meredith, Cristina, Arizona, they had all asked at one point or another...they had all wondered the same thing –  _ How could Alex live without Jo _ ? It was tough to hear her name come up here and there, but regardless, Alex was beyond thankful to still have connections with people who had known her – knew her. The odd mention of her name or random photograph he would see hung up in their houses, all gave him the peace of mind that she was okay. He could go to sleep at night knowing that Jo was safe and that Jo was loved, even if it wasn’t him that she was loved by.  _ That’s how Alex lived without Jo.  _

  
  


Except at this moment in time, standing at the entrance of the hospital that they’d once worked at together, Alex had never been more ashamed of the decision he’d made all those years ago. He’d spent every single day since he left telling himself – lying to himself – that leaving was the right choice, but all it took was one day in Seattle and all of those lies came crumbling down. 

  
  


“Well, well, well...if it isn’t Alex Karev.” 

  
  


The hairs at the back of his neck stood up with fear at the sound of voice beside him. His entire body frozen and petrified by the hidden tone laced within the words. Unable to look her in the eye, Alex bowed his head with shame. “Oh um-hey Bailey…” 

  
  


“Hey Bailey? That’s all I get…,” Bailey whacked her hand hard against his arm. “I know you’ve kept in touch with Grey and what-not, but don’t you forget that the last I saw of you was in a courtroom over fifteen years ago! I want to know why you’re here, please. Why now...why after all of these years?”

  
  


“You’re looking good Bailey,” Alex chuckled at his old superior, avoiding the questions she grilled into him. 

  
  


“Of course I am. I always am! What I want to know is why you’re here Karev...what brings you to Seattle.” 

  
  


Alex sighed, looking up to stare back at the large hospital entrance before him, smiling sadly, “I missed home.” 

  
  


## ❀❀❀

  
  
  


“What the hell Alex?!” Meredith held her arms out in question. “I thought we agreed for you to meet at the house.” 

  
  


“Yeah we did, but I really wanted to see this place again. I missed it.” Alex answered with an obvious tone of annoyance to his voice. “I don’t understand the problem.” 

  
  


Meredith didn’t respond straight away, instead grabbing his arm and yanking it into the nearest conference room. “The problem, Alex, is that this isn’t your place to just drop by a visit anymore! You left...you just up and disappeared once day...and you left a lot of people behind when you did.” She paused, giving Alex a chance to work it out himself, but the confused shaking of his head prompted her to continue. “I’m talking about Jo. You know, the woman you married all those years ago. I don’t think it’s very fair to her that you’re here right now.” 

  
  


“Why would she care if I come back to a hospital that she doesn't even work at anymore? Isn’t she living in New York these days?” Alex crossed his arms across his chest defensively. 

  
  


“Oh Alex…” Meredith’s head fell into her head in defeat. “No. You’ve got it all wrong. She’s not in New York.” 

  
  


“Okay…” Alex pulled out a chair beside his friend. “I can just sit in here until you’re done with your shift if you like, but please, I’d really like to stay. Besides, wherever she is, wherever it is in the world that Jo works now, I’m sure she’d be fine with me being here.” 

  
  


“She works here, Alex. She took over for me as the head of general surgery when I became chief. Jo’s been back for almost two years now.” 

  
  


“She-she-um-Jo-she,” Alex stuttered out in shock. “You’re telling me that Jo works here...in this hospital, and that I could see her at any moment?” 

  
  


Meredith moved to place a comforting arm on his shoulder, encouraging him to slow down the rapid breaths that were building. “Yes she does, but I just saw her go into surgery so you won’t run into each other if you leave now...which I recommended you do.” 

  
  


Lost for words, all Alex could do was nod as he pushed himself off the chair and made a beeline for the exit. However, before he could even lay a hand on the door handle, it pushed open towards him instead and revealed a young teenage girl at the other side. 

  
  


It was her. Alex recognised her immediately. It was the blue-eyed girl. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading ♡♡
> 
> You can check out my other fics on here or over on my tumblr: @mac-andcheeses


	3. The Blue-Eyed Girl

Her eyes had been the very first thing Alex had noticed about her all those years ago, and despite never having actually met before, he knew exactly who the girl standing in the doorway was. She was the blue-eyed girl. 

  
  


**_____**

One day, after having spent the weekend visiting his mom in Iowa, seven year old Lex went to Alex and asked him why he never told her about the other little girls who go to granny’s house. Confused by his daughter's questions, Alex relayed the comment to Helen over the phone that evening, in which she claimed she had no idea what Lex was talking about. 

  
  


She continued to bring up the little girls every chance she got. She would frequently ask Alex, and sometimes even Izzie, when she would next be allowed to go back to granny’s house to play with the cute babies there. However, no matter how many times she brought it up, Helen would deny any such existence of other children at her house that weekend. It wasn’t for another year and a half after the fact that Alex finally saw for himself what Lex had been talking about for so long. 

  
  


He had gone back home to Iowa to help his mom move into a care home facility and whilst packing, Alex had come across a photograph of his daughter and his mom from that weekend they’d spent together. Only they weren’t alone in the picture because, hugged tightly either side of his mom, were two other young girls. Lex was holding the hand of the taller girl who was burying her face into his mom’s jacket, revealing only her pale yellow hair to the camera. The second girl – the blue-eyed girl – was what caught Alex’s eye the most. It was like he was looking at a photo of his little sister, Amber, as a child. There were some notable differences, such as her thick brown waves compared to the long blonde hair Amber had, but everything else – the eyes, the crooked smile, the two identical dimples on each cheek – were all the same. 

  
  


Over the years, the pictures kept appearing, and Alex watched the blue-eye girl grow bigger and bigger until she was the same age Lex had been when she’d first mentioned her. Scattered among his mom’s belongings were various items with her face on it, from christmas cards to school photographs, her blue eyes sparkling prominently in each and every one. Alex could never explain why he felt such a strong connection to the little blue eyed girl his mom seemed to know, and yet, something kept pulling him back towards her. The first thing he would do during his trips to Iowa was check in all the drawers and cupboards for more evidence of the girl, usually finding a photo or two buried in the back of one of them. 

  
  


That’s the thing, though; they were always hidden, never in plain sight like the photographs of Eli and Lex or Amber’s children. Alex didn’t find it strange at first, assuming that his mom was probably just friends with one of those overly proud grandmothers who liked to send endless photos that nobody else cared about. However, all it took was for him to turn up in Iowa unannounced one day and suddenly, with his mom not being able to stash the photos before he arrived, Alex realised just how important the blue-eyed girl was to his mother. The pictures that he would usually find at the back of a junk drawer somewhere, were instead framed and hung on the wall alongside photos of his own kids. The most recent photo of the lot, as shown by the year engraved at the bottom of the wooden frame, had the cheerful young girl hanging upside down from a tree, accompanied by an older shaggy haired boy and who Alex assumed was the same blonde girl she’d been pictured with all those years ago. 

  
  


Alex never did see a photo of the blue-eyed girl again. He’d be planning to ask his mom who she was when he’d first found her plastered around the walls, but something had come up, and the next time he was in Iowa all evidence of the young girl had disappeared. It didn’t make any sense to Alex... _ What harm would come of him knowing about the little girl his mom had grown so attached to?  _

**_____**

  
  
  
  
  


Standing dead in his tracks, Alex took in each and every feature of the blue eyed girl he’d watched grow from a small toddler to an energetic kid through his mothers photographs. Her chestnut hair, still as wavy and as thick as ever, was looking slightly lighter at the ends. She was sporting a nose ring, and wore a floral dress with an embroidered denim jacket, complete with black boots. And her eyes, if possible, were looking even more blue than ever, probably due to the way her makeup accentuated the bright colour. It was definitely her though, a good few years older and all, but her, nonetheless. If he had to take a guess, Alex would say the girl was about fifteen years old now, possibly nearing sixteen. She still looked like the spitting image of his sister, even now more than ever because she’s around the same age that Amber had been when she’d dyed her hair brown for the school year. 

  
  


The young girl appeared startled by Alex when she’d first opened the door. Eyes going wide with fear as she stood frozen in the doorway, her breath hitched in her chest. The nervousness didn’t go unnoticed by him as she looked to be taking him in, as if she recognised him back. “Oh my bad, sorry. I didn’t realise somebody was on their way out.” Her furrowed brows stared past him back at Meredith in confusion. “I was hoping to speak to Doctor Grey.” 

  
  


They knew each other. The mysterious child that his mom knew and Meredith Grey, his best friend, somehow knew each other. “I was just on my way out,” Alex managed to choke out, before extending his arm in greeting. “I’m Doctor Karev, by the way. Alex Karev. You can just call me Alex.” 

  
  


The girl accepted the handshake hesitantly, nodding softly. “Nice to meet you, Alex.” 

  
  


“You look very familiar…” Alex said testing the waters. “How do you know Doctor Grey?” 

  
  


“Harley is my niece,” Meredith led the girl inside the room. “Her mom is a very good friend of mine. She’s a surgeon here.” 

  
  


Meredith's words took Alex by surprise, causing him to look confusingly between the two. It wasn’t completely far-fetched to say that his mom could know somebody who worked with Meredith, but it was still an unlikely scenario. “Your mom is a doctor at this hospital?” 

  
  


“That’s right!” Harley shot a friendly smile Alex’s way but was quick to turn her attention back to the blonde attending. “I can come back later if now is a bad time for you. I don’t want to interrupt.” 

  
  


“No!” Meredith held her hand up in protest, “Alex was just leaving.” If the stern tone or furious eyes weren’t enough for him to get the hint and go, Meredith's less than subtle hand on his back pushing him towards the door got the message out loud and clear. 

  
  


He was almost out the door when another figure entered the room, this one a lot less of a mystery than the last. So much of her was different, whilst so much was also the same. A fair amount of time had passed since they’d stood face to face and yet she looked no older. More mature maybe, but not older. Her hair was lighter than he’d ever seen it before, nearly completely blonde, and it was cut to the same shoulder-length style that he’d always thought looked best on her. From the moment they locked eyes, her pain, her anger, her hatred for him, all radiated through Alex’s body. 

  
  


“Jo...” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading ♡♡
> 
> You can check out my other fics on here or over on my tumblr: @mac-andcheeses


End file.
